Chapter 6 Registration

Transcription

1 Chapter 6 Registration Contents A. Regular and Late Registration... 2 B. Advising... 2 C. Required Registration Loads... 2 D. Registration Procedures for Students... 4 E. Special Procedures for the Summer Sessions... 5 F. Changes in Registration... 5 G. Cooperative Registration for Courses Offered at North Carolina Central University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro... 6 H. Courses Below 500-Level for Graduate Degree Credit... 7 I. Audited Courses... 7 J. Language Courses... 7 Last updated: July 27,

2 All students must register each fall and spring semester for Continuation until all degree requirements are completed, unless waived by an approved leave of absence granted by the associate dean. Failure to maintain continuous registration each fall and spring without explicit approval will result in administrative withdrawal from the University. In some cases, summer registration is also required (see section E). A. Regular and Late Registration Enrolled students, using the Automated Computer Enrollment System (ACES), register via the web for the fall and spring semesters, as well as for the summer sessions, at the dates and times announced by the Registrar. Students who fail to register at these times will incur a late registration fee. For web registration procedures, consult the registrar s home page at: New students, students returning from an approved leave of absence, and reinstated students register via the web in August (for Fall semester), January (for Spring semester), or May (for Summer sessions). B. Advising Each semester you should discuss with each student in your program the total number of units of registration needed and approve their courses, seminars and research registrations. We encourage you to keep a record of approved registrations for your students, particularly as these relate to Graduate School course requirements for master's students and to departmental requirements for the Ph.D. Who should provide regular advising to graduate students? All graduate students need clear information on departmental and program requirements and policies, as well as supportive advice on what options are available to them. As DGS, it your direct responsibility to see that the students in your program get accurate and helpful information. Proper advising requires the attention of a faculty member actively involved in the curriculum. For small programs, of course, advising is a task easily handled by a single person; larger ones should develop a more extensive system of faculty mentoring and advising to be sure that all aspects of the department or program are adequately covered. Please pay particular attention to dual-degree and joint-degree students, as these are frequently forgotten in the advising system even though they may need advice even more than your regular Master s or doctoral students. C. Required Registration Loads In doctoral programs, full-time or part-time status is assigned to each student by the DGS prior to the beginning of each semester (international students must be classified as full time for visa purposes). This status governs the amount of tuition charged for each semester. Please be aware that the required number of courses (that is, course requirements beyond those specified in Chapter 8 under Master's Programs) is established by the department. Doctoral candidates must register and pay tuition for the equivalent of six semesters of full-time tuition and subsequently for tuition remission for each additional semester and summer (if required to register during the summer by their degree program) until all degree requirements are met and their dissertations are turned in to the Library. Students must Last updated: July 27,

3 register for Continuation to be active in their programs and for the proper tuition to be charged. Beyond any additional program-specific requirements, full-time master's candidates must register for nine units per semester until a minimum of 30 units of degree credit have been accrued, over a minimum of three semesters (the full summer term being the equivalent of a semester). Full-time master's candidates may register for more up to twelve units with DGS permission, and for less than nine units only in the final semester in which they are completing the degree credits required by their master s program. If no further course work is necessary for the master's degree, the registration should be "Continuation" each semester and summer (if required to register during the summer by their degree program) until degree requirements are completed. Full-time registration for master s students now involves payment of a flat semester tuition, not registration for any arbitrary number of course units. Students in master's programs requiring theses customarily register for up to six (6) units of "Ungraded Research." The term "Ungraded Research" may also be used to designate the counterbalance registration required in master's programs where units of credit have been transferred from another school into the degree program at Duke (See Chapter 8, Section C: Transfer of Credits ). The minimum course load for part-time graduate students in a degree program is three (3) units per semester, as long as the student is not receiving financial support from Duke. Part-time students are not eligible to receive institutional financial support or to take courses under the inter-institutional agreements with neighboring institutions. All students (including part time) must maintain continuous registration during the fall and spring semesters of the academic year from the time they are admitted to a degree program until its completion, unless a leave of absence is approved by the associate dean. Students are not required to register in the summer unless they are receiving financial support or need summer residency for course work or other research, or because they are scheduled for a preliminary or other examination. Note: if an exam occurs when a student is not registered, the exam will not count under any circumstances. When should I designate a student as part-time? Master s students are designated as part-time when they take fewer than 9 units in a given semester (save their final one.) It is very unusual for doctoral students to be accorded part-time status. Some are forced into this position simply because they cannot afford full-time tuition for a particular semester, but still wish to enroll in a course or two; others people working in Research Triangle Park, for example would like to do as much of their coursework as possible under part-time status. In either case, please remember that students classified as part-time are ineligible for institutional support. Can doctoral students switch from full-time to part-time at any point in their degree programs? Yes, although remember that they must also complete the residence requirement, so Last updated: July 27,

4 there is a limit on the number of terms during which they can be part-time. The Ph.D. has a minimum one-year requirement that can be fulfilled only as a full-time student. To meet this requirement, the student must pay full-time tuition for two consecutive semesters (fall and spring semesters of the same academic year). Remember, too, that international students must be registered full-time in order to maintain their student visas. D. Registration Procedures for Students After you have advised the student on course selection, the student goes to a computer and registers using the Automated Computer Enrollment System (ACES) at the following address: All students are expected to register at the times specified by the university. A late registration is charged students who fail to register on time. Installment payments for appropriate tuition and fees can be arranged only via payroll deduction from University paychecks. It is the responsibility of your office to provide students with the necessary forms for such payroll deductions at the time of registration. Students registering for the ensuing semester will receive bills from the Bursar prior to the beginning of the semester. Students who are being funded by the Graduate School, the department, or an outside funding agency should check with the Bursar to make sure that their accounts have been credited with the proper amount. Periodically, you will receive from the Graduate School lists of students who have outstanding balances on their Bursar accounts. They should be advised to clear this balance as soon as possible, because outstanding balances will block students from further registration. At the start of each term, students who are required to register but fail to pay their balances, or make arrangements for doing so that are satisfactory to the Bursar s office, will be withdrawn from the university. Do Ph.D. students have to register for a minimum number of course units? No. Ungraded research is used only in special circumstances (primarily for required counterbalancing of credits when students take courses at one of our inter-institutional partner campuses). The minimum requirement is that PhD students must be registered for Continuation in fall and spring. Some programs also require summer registration. What should I do with a first-year PhD student who arrives after the two-week registration period? In most circumstances, we will work with you to arrange informal independent studies for the student, since he/she will not be allowed to enroll in an ongoing class. Late students may, of course, be incorporated into laboratory settings as quickly as feasible. However, the program should decide carefully at what point it is no longer academically feasible for the student to arrive, based on the completion of program requirements. Deferrals can be granted in some cases for starting at the next semester or next academic year. For foreign students, bear in mind that a student visa requires that the student be fully engaged in his or her academic program for the entire semester. Last updated: July 27,

5 Suppose a new foreign student can t get to this country until after the end of the second week of classes. Can I register that student before he/she arrives? No, both University policy and immigration regulations prohibit such registration. E. Special Procedures for the Summer Sessions Students who hold awards or who are being paid on research grants must register for the summer to receive a summer stipend. Summer registration will also be required for any student taking a graduate examination (prelim or final) or a graduate course during that term. PhD students registered for the summer pay a flat-rate tuition that covers graduate work (courses, exams, or research experiences) required by their degrees. However, undergraduate courses are not covered by graduate tuition and, if taken, will generate additional tuition charges beyond the flat-rate tuition and those additional charges will be the responsibility of the student. Please be aware that students who are registering for the purpose of conducting research, taking courses, or receiving summer stipends need to register for the Summer Full Term, not Summer Terms I or II. Things to Note: Students have to register for the summer to apply for student loans. In such cases, their fees will be waived. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for procedures. Students have to register for the summer to take prelims or a non-thesis master s exam, or to defend a dissertation or master s thesis during the summer. Students who register for Continuation and later decide to take a course will not be able to make this change through ACES. They will need to register manually through the Graduate School. F. Changes in Registration Changes in registrations are made using ACES only at times announced in the Official Schedule of Courses, which can be found at: Schedule of Courses. After you have approved the change in registration, the student follows instructions from ACES on the web. During the first two weeks of the fall and spring semesters, registration may be changed with your approval if no reduction of fee is entailed. If fees are reduced, the approval of the dean of the Graduate School is required and must be received no later than the first week of the semester. No late registration or drop/add will be allowed after this period. Students who drop a course after the second week will have a W (Withdrawal) recorded on the transcript and will receive no financial reimbursement. See the Course Withdrawal Form on Graduate School web site: Graduate School Commonly Used Forms. During the summer session, all course changes must take place within three days of the beginning of the term. Thereafter, course credit will be dropped only with a recorded notation of W. Last updated: July 27,

6 How can a student withdraw from a course after the second week? What is the last date a withdrawal would be permitted? Students may withdraw from a course up to the last day of classes in the semester. Withdrawals occurring after the Drop/Add period, however, require a justifiable reason approved by the DGS, the instructor, and the Associate Dean. Please be aware that withdrawing from a course is not the same as dropping it and receiving a tuition refund; any withdrawal after the first two weeks of class will still require full payment of tuition, and the student s transcript will carry the notation W for the course. See the Graduate School Bulletin for regulations governing refunds. G. Cooperative Registration for Courses Offered at North Carolina Central University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Only full-time students are eligible for "inter-institutional" registration (see Bulletin), and such registration requires at least an equivalent number of units be taken at Duke during the same semester. The student should first register at Duke for the desired course(s) in the normal process of registration. After securing a form from the Duke Registrar certifying eligibility for inter-institutional registration, the student must then complete the registration process at the cooperating institution. Tuition will be charged for all course(s) at the Duke rate. Doctoral students who have completed all the necessary coursework at Duke may still take courses under the inter-institutional agreement; however, the student will have to register for an equivalent number of units at Duke to counterbalance the credits at the other institution (remember that PhD tuition charges are disconnected from registration units: a student who has completed all coursework has probably completed tuition payments for the requisite 6 semesters, and the counterbalancing credits will not generate any additional tuition on the student s Duke transcript). Any additional fees for courses at other institutions (e.g., laboratory or computer fees) are the responsibility of the student and are not considered part of Duke tuition. Can a master s student who has only one remaining course to reach the minimum of 30 units take that course at UNC-CH, NCCU, NCSU or UNC-G under the inter-institutional agreement? In recent years, the registrars at our sister institutions have agreed to this in principle, but there is no guarantee that agreement will continue. Consult with the Associate Dean before attempting such a registration. Last updated: July 27,

7 Can students from UNC-CH, NCCU, NCSU, or UNC-G enroll in Graduate Certificate Program? No, students from other universities are not eligible to apply for Graduate School Certificates. H. Courses Below 500-Level for Graduate Degree Credit With the approval of their Director of Graduate Studies, graduate students may enroll in undergraduate courses to round out their programs of study. Students pursuing a master s degree are limited to two undergraduate courses; doctoral students may take as many as required. In either case, students must receive a grade of B- or better to have such courses counted as part of their earned graduate credit. I. Audited Courses In order to audit a course, a student must have the approval of the instructor of the course. The student takes the written approval to the Registrar s Office for manual registration. Any student registered full-time in a degree program may audit courses without charge during the fall and spring semesters. Otherwise an audit fee is charged. J. Language Courses The Graduate School has no foreign language requirement for either the master's or the doctoral degree. Individual departments, however, may require such languages as they deem appropriate. The Director of Graduate Studies is responsible for tracking the completion of departmental requirements. The Graduate School no longer certifies language examinations or completion. You are responsible for informing all students of departmental procedures and requirements concerning foreign languages. The Summer School has recently established a series of courses in foreign languages for reading purposes. These classes do not require formal Graduate School registration, although they do generate tuition costs. The Graduate School pays 70 percent of this fee and expects the department to pay the rest. We believe it is in the interest of programs requiring foreign language proficiency to try to set aside a portion of their Graduate Awards budget to help students defray the costs of this instruction. Last updated: July 27,